Sicily · Messina
San Marco d'Alunzio
A hilltop borgo at 540 meters in pink Aluntina marble, founded by the Greeks and later Robert Guiscard's first Sicilian base.
Picked by Peter Benei
Letter to come
Why San Marco d'Alunzio is on our list
It holds Borghi più belli d'Italia.
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Visiting
- Best time
- Apr–Jun, Sep–Nov
- By car
- 1 h 53 min from Palermo
- Population
- 1,799
- J11°
- F12°
- M13°
- A15°
- M20°
- J24°
- J27°
- A27°
- S24°
- O21°
- N17°
- D13°
- Best
- Hot or crowded
- Quiet
- Mostly closed
Daytime air temperature, averages for 2020–2024. Weather data by Open-Meteo.com.
Why come
The borgo sits on Mt. Castro, five kilometers from the Tyrrhenian coast. The Greeks founded it as Alontion, prosperous enough to mint its own currency, and the settlement they built has never fully left: what they raised became the base for what came after, layer on layer, rather than being cleared away for it.
The upper town holds the ruins on Monte Rotondo, the lookout that gave the Normans command of the coast below. The historic center, walled and compact, holds twenty-two churches and is listed among the Borghi più belli d'Italia. Through all of it runs the same pink stone, quarried on the surrounding hills, cut for church interiors, piazza fountains and, beyond the town itself, for the interior of the Messina town hall. A place built repeatedly from its own ground: Greek temple, Norman stronghold and marble borgo standing on the same hill in the same rose-colored rock.
How to get there
From Catania (CTA), about 2 h 35 min by car.
By car from the center of Palermo 1 h 53 min.
Coming by train into Messina Centrale? San Marco d'Alunzio is about 1 h 27 min away by road.
First time driving in Italy? Read our complete manual.
What to see
Tempio di Ercole
The foundations sit beneath the Chiesa di San Marco, making it the oldest visible structure in the borgo, its stones absorbed into the later church above.
Ruderi del Castello Normanno
Ruins on Monte Rotondo above the village, standing as the lookout point over the Tyrrhenian coast.
Chiesa di Santa Maria delle Grazie (Aracoeli)
Renaissance church built entirely in the local rose-colored stone, with elaborate marble carvings inside the chapel.
Piazza Aluntina
Central piazza with a monumental fountain in the same pink stone, the social heart of the rebuilt town.
Museo della Cultura e delle Arti Figurative Bizantine
Byzantine art museum housed in the former monastery of the Benedettine, with frescoes and icons from the Greek-Sicilian tradition.
From the guides
Where to eat
Not our picks, but places the guides put their name to: a Michelin star, a Gambero Rosso fork, a Slow Food snail, a Michelin Key for the hotels. Worth a table, a counter, or a night when you pass through.
Demenna Luogo di RistoroRistorante
Demenna Luogo di Ristoro holds one Gambero Rosso fork (76/100).
Before you sit down: how to order at a restaurant, how to spot a tourist trap, what aperitivo is and how the Italian bar works.
Living here
Could you live here?
San Marco d'Alunzio is at the end of the road.
- A village of 1,799. The nearest town of 5,000 people, Capo d'Orlando, is 26 min away: past our 15-minute rule, which makes this the end of the road.
- Messina, a city of 217,033, is 1 h 36 min by car. Further than our 30 to 60 minutes, a long way for the hospital visit or the monthly shopping.
The rules come from our series Where to Move in Italy, written from the places we have lived: Part 1, The End of the Road · Part 2, The Small Town · Part 3, The City · Part 4, The Postcard · Part 5, The Other Half. The towns we would pick are in Part 6, The Best Towns.
- Population 1,799, down 11.5% since 2015 (Italy's emptying towns)
- Nearest city Messina, 1 h 36 min drive
- Nearest national health service hospital Sant'Agata di Militello, 7 km as the crow flies · how healthcare works in Italy
- Homes in the center: €440 to €650 per m² to buy, €2.00 to €3.00 per m² a month to rent
All the numbers Common questions, designations, lists and sources.
More about living here
- Remote
- Pharmacy in town
- High school within a 30-minute drive
- Full fibre reaches 97% of homes
- Primary school in the comune
- Earthquake zone 2, medium hazard
- Palermo airport (PMO), 2 h 18 min drive, the nearest with scheduled flights
- Regional capital Palermo, 1 h 53 min drive
If you are moving here
Who lives here
3% of residents are foreign citizens, most often from Romania, Argentina and Brazil, against 9% across Italy. There are 246 people over 65 for every 100 children under 15, against 216 across Italy. 49% of homes have no resident, holiday homes and empty ones counted together, against 27% across Italy. Messina province ranks 91st of 107 in Il Sole 24 Ore's quality of life ranking for 2025.
Health and schools
The nearest emergency room is in Sant'Agata di Militello, 7 km as the crow flies. The nearest major one is in Messina, 72 km away. The nearest IB school is Gonzaga International School Palermo, 118 km as the crow flies.
Information, not medical advice. Confirm with a professional.
Taxes
A home that is not your main one pays 0.91% a year in property tax, charged on the cadastral value rather than the price. A main home pays none unless it is in a luxury category. The town adds 0.6% to your income tax. 7% pensioner tax: this town qualifies, for someone with a foreign pension who has lived abroad for five years: 7% on foreign income, for ten years.
Information, not tax advice. Confirm with a professional.
What it costs
The average household in Sicily spends about €1,820 a month, €580 of it on food, against about €2,170 across Italy. A family of three pays about €524 a year for water, on the Sicily average. In Messina, the provincial capital, in September 2026, an espresso cost €1.06, a meal in a pizzeria €11.45 and a man's haircut €14.72.
Climate and risk
It is in climate zone D, on a scale from A, the warmest, to F, the coldest, and heating may run from November 1 to April 15, up to 12 hours a day, unless the mayor changes it. The national maps show no residents in a high or medium flood zone. 9% live in a zone rated high or very high for landslides.
These shares cover the whole comune, not any one street. Check an address on IdroGEO.
Moving from abroad? Which visa you need. Sources: ISTAT, the Ministry of Health, ISPRA, the Finance Ministry, the Ministry of Enterprise, Poste Italiane, the comuni, the IB, International Schools Database, Il Sole 24 Ore, Cittadinanzattiva.
Known for
ALUNTINA MARBLE
Pink local marble quarried for centuries and used in the Aracoeli church, the central fountain and the interior of the Messina town hall.
FIRST NORMAN CASTLE
Robert Guiscard built his first Sicilian castle here in 1061 and used the town as the base for the eleventh-century Norman conquest of the island.
TEMPIO DI ERCOLE
Greek temple foundations from the fourth century BC support the Chiesa di San Marco, the layered Greek-Norman-Christian spine of the borgo.
Common questions
- What is San Marco d'Alunzio known for?
- San Marco d'Alunzio is a hilltop borgo at 540 meters in pink Aluntina marble, founded by the Greeks and later Robert Guiscard's first Sicilian base.
- Where is San Marco d'Alunzio?
- San Marco d'Alunzio is a comune in the province of Messina, in Sicily.
- What is the nearest airport to San Marco d'Alunzio?
- The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Palermo (PMO), about 2 h 18 min by car.
- How long is the drive from Palermo to San Marco d'Alunzio?
- About 1 h 53 min by car.
- When is the best time to visit San Marco d'Alunzio?
- Best in Apr–Jun, Sep–Nov. August is the warmest month, averaging 27 degrees, and November the wettest, with about 16 rain days.
- Which other towns are like San Marco d'Alunzio?
- Sant'Alfio, Ferla and Mezzojuso.
- How many people live in San Marco d'Alunzio?
- 1,799 residents, by ISTAT's count on 1 January 2025.
- Is San Marco d'Alunzio a good place to live?
- By the rules in our Where to Move in Italy series, San Marco d'Alunzio is at the end of the road: the nearest town of 5,000 people, Capo d'Orlando, is 26 min away. The nearest city, Messina, is 1 h 36 min away by car. The nearest national health service hospital is in Sant'Agata di Militello, 7 km as the crow flies. Full fibre reaches 97% of homes.
Tags & data designations · numbers · sources
Recognized as
Landscape
The numbers
- Elevation: 540 m
- Population: 1,799
- Surface area: 26.14 km²
These figures were compiled from public directories: ISTAT, OpenStreetMap and Wikidata, and from the official listings of the guides named on this page. Town details change; verify with official sources before you travel.
The ranked lists
Lists San Marco d'Alunzio appears in
- The best small towns inside a nature park in SicilySicilyinside a parksmall7 towns · smallest 1,516 residents
- The best towns inside a nature park that eat well in SicilySicilyinside a parkeats well7 towns · smallest 1,799 residents
- The best towns that eat well within two hours of PalermoNear Palermowithin 2 hourseats well7 towns · smallest 1,799 residents · closest 13 min away
- The prettiest villages in the province of MessinaMessina provinceprettiest villages7 towns · smallest 930 residents
- The prettiest villages inside a nature park in SicilySicilyinside a parkprettiest villages7 towns · smallest 1,664 residents
- The best small hill towns in SicilySicilyhill townsmall10 towns · smallest 652 residents
Similar
Towns like San Marco d'Alunzio
What all six share with San Marco d'Alunzio: under 3,000 people
Sant'Alfio
Province: Catania
both inland in Sicily · both hill towns
Ferla
Province: Siracusa
both inland in Sicily · both hill towns
Mezzojuso
Province: Palermo
both inland in Sicily · both hill towns
Novara di Sicilia
Province: Messina
both inland in Sicily
- Written about. No. 10.
Castiglione di Garfagnana
Province: Lucca
both hill towns
Fornelli
Province: Isernia
both hill towns
The letter
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